Ground my Wrist!

[commodorered]

Im the grounding n00b here, I hear conflicting things. I want to use one of those nifty anti static wrist wraps. Even if not, ppl say just hook to your case or touch metal of case. But I don't understand how that grounds you necessarily... at least, truely grounded.

And then what makes more sense, touching psu, and hooking to that. Of course, it would have to be plugged in right? Obviously power off... or maybe that's being uber safe (although dont feel to safe being plugged in even if off =) So what is it? Even if I dont use a wrist wrap, need to touch something to ground self.

[flattius_maximus]

i just posted a thread on this issue and i have been informed that you should use the wrist wrap and hook it to the PSU and plug psu into a powerstrip and then plug the powerstrip into a grounded home outlet. make sure the psu is plugged in but not turned on. i hope this answers your question.

[Dark Nova]

what are you trying to do?? are you building a system??? playing with components inside?

[aradon]

as a rule, anything that is earthed is enough.

I touch my case and clip my strap to a steel pole thats bolted to the floor.

[commodorered]

Yes Flattus saw that post after posting heh looked for one regarding this, must have missed it first time =)

I am building a computer ground up. Don't have a steel pole I think I'll get a power surge protector or strip, plug psu in and off, and go from there. And when you say 'grounded home outlet' just mean any outlet on a wall?

And im using a wooden table to build but it's on a evil carpet, will that matter for grounding?

[Cricket]

It's not so much "grounding" as "equalizing". What you want to do is make sure you don't have a higher "charge" than the object you're going to work with. When you touch the metal part of the case you're reducing the amount of static charge in you and raising the amount in the chassis. This reduces the built up static charge in you and lessens the chance that it will want to "jump" to another surface that has less of a charge than you have.

If you're always getting static shocks at home then it would be wise to learn as much as you can about static electricity and how to work with it before you start building your computer.

Cricket

[doctorgonzo]

It's better to stay away from carpet when it comes to static electricity. Do you have a kitchen table that you could work on? Kitchen floors are rarely carpet, and the cold water pipe makes a good earth. At home, I just touched the faucet to ground myself and had no problems.

[bitTRL1000]

Cricket provided a nice explanation. You don't necessarily need to be grounded (at the same potential as the Earth). You just need to be at the same potential as the electical components you are working on. Since they are sitting on a table they are likely at the same potential as the Earth, which is why people just say that you should ground yourself. Personally, I just make sure I touch the case/PSU early and often and I don't stand on carpet. Those two things have prevented any static problems for me.

[bailey]

and that is the mistake a lot of techs make, new parts are at earth ground potential when they are shipped from the factory,
and if you mearly equalize yourself and the case, then you and the case could be at a much higher potential than any new part, so you open the package and touch the part and zapp now the part, case, and you will be equalized.

I feel it is always best to go by the standard of earth ground.

[bitTRL1000]

It's extremely unlikely that a countertop would have any static charge on it, so the counter, and the case along with it, will be grounded. IMO, it is more likely that a computer part, shipped in a box of insulative shipping peanuts, would have a potential difference with ground.

[bailey]

Static Electricity and Computers
Whenever the casing of a computer is opened and its internal workings are exposed (to change a hard drive or add memory chips, for example), there is a danger of damaging the computer with the buildup of static electricity that is held by the human body. The internal workings of a computer, and especially the hard drive, are extremely susceptible to static electricity, which can cause considerable damage to the hard drive if it is zapped with even a small amount. Microchip damage can occur if it is exposed to static electricity as low as 10 volts, and humans are not able to perceive static electricity until it has reached about 1,500 volts. (Walking across a rug can produce a static electricity voltage of up to 12,000 volts, but static voltage is not life threatening.) So it is possible to damage a hard drive with static electricity that is not even felt by the person because it is at such a low voltage. Also, computers become increasingly susceptible to static electricity damage as more and more circuitry is built into them.
Static electricity is caused by a process called triboelectrification. Everything around us, and including us, is made of atoms, and every atom has in its center (nucleus) positively charged protons and neutrons, which have no electrical charge. Surrounding the atom are negatively charged electrons. The protons and neutrons in an atom do not change, but the electrons can move from one atom to another. When two objects touch, they exchange electrons, which causes one object to become electrically positive and the other to become electrically negative. When an object touches another object with either an opposite or neutral charge, electrons flow. Static electricity is created when electrons move back and forth between atoms.

To avoid zapping your components with static electricity, take precautions to ground the static electricity before touching any of the internal components of the computer. Wearing an ESD wrist strap or working on an anti-static mat will prevent any static electricity from damaging your computer. Another way to ground the static electricity is to touch the internal metal frame of the computer's case while the computer is plugged into an electrical socket. The static electricity will be discharged and grounded as the electrical circuit is grounded via the AC outlet. And to be on the safe side, always handle the electronic circuitry on the motherboard, video card, modem, sound card, hard drive and other internal components by any insulated, non-circuitry areas if they have them to insure that you do not send a bolt of static electricity coursing through it.

An important exception to this rule is when working inside monitors. You should not ground yourself before working inside a monitor. Monitors store electricity in capacitors, and by grounding yourself you will provide a conduit for the voltage to discharge through your body. Note Well: A computer monitor stores enough electricity in its capacitors to be lethal if released, often tens of thousands of volts. Even with the power off and/or the monitor disconnected from a power source, the monitor retains an extremely high electrical charge. Only a trained professional using the proper equipment should ever attempt to work inside of a computer monitor.



copied from webpedia

[aradon]

good explanation heres mine.

Created when electrons "jump" from one atom to another. You can create static electricity by rubbing certain things together, such as a brush and your hair. Lightning is also an example of static electricity.

That last bit kinda sums it up in one